her shoulders, she tried to get the needles of fear to leave her back. Who kept calling her? And why did they want her to leave town? As she’d told Gage after the break-in, she honestly had no idea who could want her out of town that much. Briefly, she thought about telling Gage about the calls, but she dismissed the idea. Not much he could really do about it, except become overprotective and overbearing, just like he did in high school when the dumb jocks would antagonize her. That kind of behavior was the last thing she wanted or needed right now.
The warm Texas sunshine did a lot to settle her. She even managed to smile on command when she passed Jemma Hartsfield and a few other members of the Garden Club. Walking past McBride’s Bookstore, she saw Finn McBride sitting behind the counter. She'd never met a grumpier man. As a kid, she'd kept her trips to the only bookstore in town as short as possible. If she wanted to browse and indulge her inner bookworm, she'd go to the library. Just a few years older than her dad, Mr. McBride set the bar for misanthropes in the town. She knew every now and then her mother or Jemma or one of the other women in town would try and coax him into participating in the monthly Friday Festival on the square, where book readings or local crafts were offered to entice customers. He always refused to do more than keep his doors open a few extra hours.
The Fortune River Cafe matched the other red buildings on the square, all built in the early nineteen hundreds, but inside was pure retro diner. Candy apple red walls were accented by white trim and black and white tile floors. Chrome-trimmed booths lined the walls and the long dine-in counter stretched along the right side of the restaurant. Although her mother told her it had received a new coat of paint a few years before, not much had changed since she'd left. The waitresses even wore the same slim black shorts and bright blue polo shirts.
Gage sat at the back corner booth, thumbing through the menu even though he’d had it memorized for years. She slid into the unoccupied bench with a sheepish smile. “I’m so sorry I’m late. This flu’s kept things hopping and I totally lost track of time.”
“No problem. I haven’t been here long.” Gage drummed on the table with nervous energy. “Been a while since we’ve been able to do this.”
“Definitely beats the cafeteria at Maddox High,” she said.
Tiffany, one of the waitresses who’d worked in the cafe for years, skipped over to take their orders, black ponytail bouncing as she walked. “Hey there, Chief Gage. Weren’t you just in here two days ago?”
“Oh, you know I can’t resist a good burger, Tiff.” He handed her his menu. “Besides, Doc Carr here hasn’t visited since she’s been back, so I thought I’d drag her out of the office for a little while.”
Tiffany grinned down at Mel. “Well, Melody Carr. Never thought we'd see you living here again. Smart girl like you, I'd thought you'd be working at a fancy hospital in New York or somewhere."
Mel had thought that too at one point, after she and Caine broke up. The idea of coming back to Unknown had eaten at her for months. Her practical mind had dismissed it as anxiety over running into Caine again and having to pretend like nothing had happened. In reality, she knew that the lost, helpless little girl in her would see him and beg him to forget that she’d ever broken up with her. Years apart had given her enough perspective to realize that a past relationship was no reason to give up on her childhood dream of being the town doctor. Sure, she’d thought she’d have a few more years of experience under her back before she came home, but this was her town, just as much as it was Caine’s.
“Doc Booth and I made a deal when I was twelve. All I had to do was get through medical school and he’d finally retire. Clara would’ve hunted me down and dragged me back here by my ear if I didn’t hold Doc to his